Tenant monitoring

[stairway]

I have just received a leaflet from a well known settings agent. Regarding monitoring a tenants financial situation throughout the tenancy
It reads ;
As part of our property management services, our tenant monitoring solution can help you minimise that risk.
Keeps you up-to-date on your tenants financial situation throughout the tenancy.
Prempts rental payment problems
Puts you in a better position to decide whether a tenancy renewal is in the best interests of both you and your tenant.
Gives you the necessary information to negotiate renewal terms.
Surely thus goes against peoples human rights for privacy. Surely this is a step too far even for lettings agents?

Chancellors are twatbags anyway

I'm a landlord and I hate the idea. It seems really intrusive.

I didnt know chancellors were twatbags.. I do now.

This is disgusting. As if anyone private renting hasn't got enough to put up with.

We would never bother with this for our tenants. I don't really see what it will achieve.

The person undergoing a credit check has to give their explicit permission.

I used to work as a credit officer for a credit union and was not allowed to run credit checks without permission of the client.

No one can just 'run a credit check on someone'. Our credit checks were all logged and recorded by the credit checking agency we used.

The only credit check that matters after the initial one on a tenant before the contract is signed is to check the rent has been paid in to the agent's bank each month. There is no need to run any more checks.

It costs very little to run a credit check and I would not pay for such a service after the initial one was done.

I'm a LL and it seems intrusive. I would have reservations about the tenant's privacy, repeated checks on their credit history might actually have an effect on that credit history (isn't there that credit history 'footprint'?), plus it makes me cynical that they would be keeping tabs to see if they could up the rent and the tenant afford it.

Each credit check surely appears on the tenants record. I know that when I did checks it always appeared on the client's record immediately and we took note of someone who had had a lot of credit checks with banks and loan companies as a potentially bad credit.

Repeated checks are not a good thing to have on your credit record.

Challellors are scum. They ripped me off 16 years ago. A decent agent acts as much for the tenant as the landlord. The agency that I use has no qualms about telling off landlords who don't meet their standards. I am glad that they keep me within the law.

Surely landlords will be too smart to fall for this? Maybe not.

I dont understand why they think that my financial situation is anyones business but mine? If I pay my rent on time then fine and if I dont then I get evicted. As a PP said, ime its people with poor ratings that are more likely to pay on time as they know that they are very limited on where will take them if they need to move. A friend is an accidental LL thanks to negative equity and her worst tenant was perfect on paper, well paying job etc but was a nightmare for not paying rent on time, if at all.

can't see any benefit to this as a landlord; the tenant is either going to pay the rent or they are not. A credit check makes no difference. Someone could have shedloads of money and still decide not to pay - as per the example above.

landlords need to monitor payments - like I do. And take action when they are late - like I did, I knew the tenant had paid in full and on time but the agent was sitting on it. Part of the business is knowing what is going on.

if they stop or are late paying, the action at next renewal is fairly obvious.

useless non-service.

Appalling. How can this be legal? Surely the tenant only gives permission for an initial credit check when applying for the property, not for continual snooping? Could be used for all sorts of nefarious purposes, as pps say.

As a tenant, I know always to pay my rent on time, and make that my priority, because it would put me in such a bad position if I didn't, even if I had a dispute with the landlords (over repairs for example). I am sure most tenants would do the same, even if their credit file was not spotless. Frankly, if the rent is paid, the agency should keep their nose out.

I am glad to see that as a landlord you are just as horrified, OP. Hopefully many landlords will feel the same and boycott this agency.

I wonder if tenants can credit check their landlord to make sure they are not in mortgage arrears or other financial trouble?

I work in a lettings agency. We would NEVER offer landlords this type of service and havent heard of our competitors doing so either - though one is offering landlords a rent guarantee scheme which we are dubious about. We do carry out a credit check as part of the tenants application (this is done by an external referencing agency as to carry out the type of check we do you need accreiditation),i'm in scotland so the cost of this is covered by the landlord. Assuming that check doesnt flag any issues we wouldnt do it again, if it did we would most likely ask for a guarantor depending on what the problem was.

Are people aware though that everyone you have credit with is doing this? Your credit card company, utility supplier, Virgin, bank etc... They all get regular reports about your credit worthiness. Rent isn't credit, admittedly, but this isn't a completely off the wall idea. I don't think, as others have said, that it offers anything useful to the landlord but the lettings agent is banking on the LL being too stupid to realise that. Letting agents tend to be pretty stupid themselves and probably can't follow the logic themselves.

As a PP said, ime its people with poor ratings that are more likely to pay on time as they know that they are very limited on where will take them if they need to move.

It has been well documented that it's bloody expensive to be poor!

Is that really true, Buckin? Blimey. I thought you had to give permission for searches of your credit file. That's why they tell you not to apply for new credit cards or loans if you are planning to apply for a mortgage in the next year, isn't it? Because each search puts a 'footprint' on your credit file?

Totally confused now!

It does leave a footprint. But look at your footprints- the companies you have credit with will search you regularly. This is completely standard and doesn't (shouldn't- it's up to the individual what they do with the info) affect your ability to borrow money in itself.

What looks bad on your credit file is lots of companies searching you because you've made Credit applications- ie people you don't currently have credit agreements with. This indicate you're trying to borrow money - either from multiple sources or you're being rejected. Which doesn't paint a great picture.

renter tell me about it. Everything costs more, despite the fact that you have less money to pay for it with!